


Death Has No Memory

by fishharlan16



Category: Urban Shadows (Tabletop RPG)
Genre: Dammit Max, Death, For me to write a fuckin ficlet?, Is this what you wanted?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:28:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24920833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishharlan16/pseuds/fishharlan16
Summary: Dying once isn't enough for some people.
Kudos: 1





	Death Has No Memory

Death came for Declan Sheng at least once before. Not that he could remember anything about it. He remembers parts of his life before and most of his life after, but the event itself is a blur. If it wasn’t for the scars around his neck and the deal with a devil, he would almost be convinced that it never happened and he just had a spotty memory.

Despite the amnesia, however, Declan felt a pang of familiarity. Dying again… it felt familiar. And that familiarity is how he knew that it was already too late. He was dying. The mask over his face hid the fear in his eyes, luckily. He still had too much pride for that. Not that it wasn’t obvious anyway. Even with the armor afforded to Declan with his pact, even with the claws and the fire and the wings, hard hits are still hard hits. And sometimes they’re too hard.

Dear god, was it always so hard to concentrate? That might be the blood loss. He just needed to hold out a little longer. This is all part of the job, right? A rogue demon gets out, Declan hunts it down. It’s supposed to be simple. Fuck, why can’t it just be simple? Why did the demon have to go for the subway? Why did there have to be civilians on the subway? And why did Declan rush in to protect people? Because he’s an idiot who couldn’t just let the people die.

Destruction rained down in the subway. The demon easily stood at least 10 feet tall, and had already torn up the tracks by just storming through them. And Declan didn’t even have his bike. But he still thought he could hold it off, could subdue it alone. And for a moment, it seemed almost as if he could. But this was a big fucker, and it simply swatted Declan aside. Even when Declan kept coming, it treated him like a nuisance rather than a threat. Even when Declan put on the mask and assumed a more demonic form, nothing he did could stop this demon. So he decided to just keep its attention long enough for people to escape.

Decisions like that are not made by people expecting to live very long. It was the sort of decision that Declan did not often make. He did make that choice, though. And it left him with a lot of broken bones. He was only upright because he hadn’t shed his demon form yet. It would keep him upright just long enough. Just long enough to see the last civilian slip away up the emergency exit. Now it was just him and the demon. He turned back to the demon just in time to see a fist that sent him careening into a wall.

Declan collapsed in a heap and barely managed to sit himself up. He took off the mask and looked up at the ceiling. “Well. Let’s see if it sticks this time,” he said as the demon closed in on him.

* * *

Deep down, a voice told him it wouldn’t.  


**Author's Note:**

> A simple question about last words led to this being written. I hope you're happy.


End file.
